Question Duck
was a gag-a-day comic by Psudonym. The gag always consists of the title duck asking an off-the-wall question, in a wide variety of settings Once per Episode.
Some have answers, and some don't, but far more often than not, they are incongruous in the setting.
The strip went on hiatus in early 2012, as Psudonym turned her focus to other works, including various short stories and collaborative projects with writer Gunwild. In January 2014, she returned to the strip, updating it once a week or so... and then put it back on hiatus in May to pursue other projects, foremost among them Cassiopeia Quinn. Now with the demise of Smack Jeeves, it's unlikely to ever be returned to again.
Question Duck contains examples of:
- Animate Inanimate Object: Used in a guest strip where Question Duck visits a kitchen full of talking appliances.
- Art Evolution: The comic has evolved from black-and-white line drawings to vivid, detailed backgrounds.
- Art Shift: Psudonym has a distinct art style, but will occasionally switch between styles, as a tribute or otherwise
- Auto-Tune: Discussed in #225
- Black Bead Eyes: Everyone.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Psudonym puts enough detail into characters that one can identify recurring characters by minor details, such as Kobe's interrupted eyebrow.
- Constantly Curious: Our hero.
- Deliberately Monochrome: While many of the strips are in color, a large collection of them fit this trope as well.
- Disproportionate Retribution: A series of pranks between Guy and Kobe that starts with Kobe waving a rubber spider at Question Duck and ends with Guy lodged facefirst in a giant shark pillow.
- Everything's Better with Rainbows
- Giant Spider: One is hiding behind the mirror in #169.
- Guest Comic: Dozens of them have been included, due to both the popularity of the comic and its structure.
- Head Pet: The duck commonly sits on the guy's head
- Humongous Mecha: Seen in #81.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Kobe.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: After a lengthy
Schedule Slip; the first strip Psudonym made (showing Guy and Question Duck returning home in full hermit's garb) became the setup for an arc in which Guy recounts a lengthy tale of travels. The question for this one was "Where have you been!?!" courtesy of Kobe. - Monochrome Past: Discussed in one strip.
- The Münchausen: Describing where you have been.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Alas, they had to part. Really.
- Pink Girl, Blue Boy: The duck asks why.
- Pixel Art Comic: Done in a few of the guest strips.
- Rail Enthusiast: They go to an exhibit put on by one.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Comics #160 thru #165 involves the aftermath of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, with Guy and Question Duck travelling to Tokyo to help out the survivors.
- Rule of Funny: On occasion.
- Running Gag: In earlier strips, and on occasions in later, when Question Duck asks a question, Guy's mouth isn't shown, even going so far as to hide it with water.
- Scenery Porn: Backgrounds lavishly unrelated to the questions
- Shout-Out: Too many to list, often courtesy of Question Duck himself.
- Single Tear: When parting from a love.
- Snowed-In: One setting
- Sparkles
- Speaking in Panels: Recounting a tale.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: A mermaid and a human — can't be.
- Talking Animal: Question Duck, the only major divergence from Real Life.
- Total Eclipse of the Plot.
- Underwater City: Where he's been. Really.
- Unsound Effect: Used in comic #214. The sound of characters folding their hand in poker is "fold."
- The Voiceless: The humans only speak on special occasions
- Watching the Sunset: Sitting on a hillside. As usual, the question has no connection
- Written Sound Effect: During described comic-book style adventures.
- Wild Hair: Guy and Question Duck, in one strip.
- World Tour: Only way to get to all these settings.
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: A sign saying "Ye all cometh back now, yon heareth?" is seen outside of a renaissance fair.
